


the king is dead, long live the king

by nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)



Series: dimension 20 [17]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Campaign 05: A Crown of Candy, Episode: c05e09 A Crown of Candy: Safe Harbor, Gen, fear of the dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24672214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife
Summary: When Jet is seven, she will crawl from her bed into Ruby’s and whisper,Ruby? I can’t sleep. It’s too dark, I'm scared, and Ruby, already awake because she’s never been able to sleep when Jet is restless, will whisper back,Why?And Jet is seven years old and says,I think there’s monsters under my bed, and Ruby saysWell there’s no room for monsters if we’re under the bed, and she’ll clamber off the bed, her sister’s hand in hers, because you can never be too careful with monsters under the bed, and in the morning Caramelinda with stop breathing for a second at her daughters’ empty beds before she notices the blankets spilling from under the bed’s frame and when she crouches down, she’ll be met with Ruby’s wide eyes and hushed,The monsters can’t be under the bed if we’re already here.
Relationships: Jet Rocks & Ruby Rocks
Series: dimension 20 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706107
Comments: 15
Kudos: 74





	the king is dead, long live the king

When Jet is seven, she will crawl from her bed into Ruby’s and whisper, _Ruby? I can’t sleep. It’s too dark, I'm scared,_ and Ruby, already awake because she’s never been able to sleep when Jet is restless, will whisper back, _Why?_

And Jet is seven years old and says, _I think there’s monsters under my bed,_ and Ruby says _Well there’s no room for monsters if we’re under the bed,_ and she’ll clamber off the bed, her sister’s hand in hers, because you can never be too careful with monsters under the bed, and in the morning Caramelinda with stop breathing for a second at her daughters’ empty beds before she notices the blankets spilling from under the bed’s frame and when she crouches down, she’ll be met with Ruby’s wide eyes and hushed, _The monsters can’t be under the bed if we’re already here_. 

When Jet is ten, she won’t crawl into her sister’s bed, because they haven’t slept in separate beds for years (why wouldn’t you sleep in the place that holds your heart?) but she will poke Ruby’s arm and whisper, a little too loudly to be a proper whisper, _Ruby?_ and she won’t have to say anything else, because Ruby is already awake- having never been able to sleep while Jet is restless- and pulling their duvet and Jet both underneath the bed’s frame. 

Jet will shimmy underneath the frame behind her sister and breathe in the faint smell of candy-wood and licorice and dust, and she’ll be _safe_ , surrounded by her sister and the low ceiling of the bed frame, because it’s never really been the dark she’s been afraid of, but the _shadows_. But under the bed there won’t be any shadows to loom like Hungry Ones on her walls, just Ruby.

When Jet is sixteen, she’ll be sitting on the bottom bunk of their brand new bunk beds, staring at the figures on the wall. And she _knows_ it’s just the shadowy reflection of a tree, probably, but the longer she stares, the more it seems to warp and twist, like a Hungry One just waiting to devour her like the chaplain tells her will happen if she isn’t devout enough. 

And she looks down and knows that the monsters under the bed aren’t real, but it’s harder to believe that when the shadows look like hands on the edge of her mattress, grasping at her, and she’ll sigh and bite her lip to keep the whispered _Ruby?_ that wants to escape from her mouth _inside_ , because she’s _sixteen_ and being afraid of the dark is silly. 

But Ruby will lean down from the top bunk anyway, sliding down from the bunk with one of the moves she’s learning at the circus, duvet trailing behind her, because Ruby has never been able to sleep when Jet is restless, scared. They’re both too big now to fit comfortably under the bed, and their ankles stick out awkwardly, but Jet is surrounded by the wall and her sister and the familiar scent of candy-wood and there’s no space for monsters, no space to be afraid. Not with her sister by her side. 

When Jet is eighteen, she’ll sprint across the bridge to Dulcington in the dark, and she’ll see the yawning chasms of darkness and shadow on each side and not be afraid because there’s a softly glowing heart around her neck, and she’ll share an elated glance with Ruby and she’ll laugh, bright and carefree. There’s room for monsters around her, but Jet has a sword and her sister and her cousin (brother) by her side, now. It’s okay for there to be room for monsters, now, because that just means there’s room to fight them. 

Ruby and Jet and Liam will break into the attic silently, Liam a shadow at their side but Jet isn’t afraid because when they whisper in their sing-song giggles, the shadows sing-songs back. Jet and Ruby won’t have to look at each other to sync their entry into the attic, bow not drawn and sword not unsheathed because it’s _Dulcington_ , but they’ll do it anyway, the mischief sparkling in their eyes reflected back at them. 

They’ll step through the doorway, quiet but not quiet enough, because this is their home, their childhood, muffled giggles and silent footsteps not muffled or silent enough, and then the sharp crack of peppermint-tipped arrows will pierce the candy-wood scented nostalgia of Dulcington, and the shadows will loom tall over Jet once more, but she can _fight_ now.

_Ruby? It’s dark. i’m scared._

_Why? I’m here._

Jet can’t see them but she can _feel_ them, and they’re both sourdough assassins and the looming Hungry Ones on her childhood bedroom wall, and she feels water sluice, clear and deadly through her body, and she can fight them but it’s not _enough_. She sees nothing of Liam but the peppermint arrows that blink into and out of her vision, and she will scream _Run, Ruby!_ and she won’t have to look at Ruby to know that she’s crying with anger and fear and _this isn’t fair this isn’t fair this isn’t fair_ , but she will anyway, and she won’t see the sparkling mischief reflected from her own eyes into her twin’s. Instead she’ll see her fear.

When she is eighteen Jet will die in the dark, surrounded by shadows she finally got the chance to fight.


End file.
